Use our XML validator to syntax-check your XML.
Well Formed XML Documents
An XML document with correct syntax is called "Well Formed".
The syntax rules were described in the previous chapters:
- XML documents must have a root element
- XML elements must have a closing tag
- XML tags are case sensitive
- XML elements must be properly nested
- XML attribute values must be quoted
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<note>
<to>Tove</to>
<from>Jani</from>
<heading>Reminder</heading>
<body>Don't forget me this weekend!</body>
</note>XML Errors Will Stop You
Errors in XML documents will stop your XML applications.
The W3C XML specification states that a program should stop processing an XML document if it finds an error. The reason is that XML software should be small, fast, and compatible.
HTML browsers are allowed to display HTML documents with errors (like missing end tags).
With XML, errors are not allowed.
Syntax-Check Your XML
To help you syntax-check your XML, we have created an XML validator.
Try to syntax-check correct XML :
Try to syntax-check incorrect XML :
Try to syntax-check your own XML :
Valid XML Documents
A "well formed" XML document is not the same as a "valid" XML document.
A "valid" XML document must be well formed. In addition, it must conform to a document type definition.
There are two different document type definitions that can be used with XML:
- DTD - The original Document Type Definition
- XML Schema - An XML-based alternative to DTD
A document type definition defines the rules and the legal elements and attributes for an XML document.